Best iPhone | iMore

Best overall:
iPhone X (256 GB)

iPhone X gives you get the best OLED display in the industry, at Plus size, crammed into a body the size of the regular iPhone. Fully Dolby Vision and HDR10 compatible, iPhone X isn’t just the best mobile movie player on the planet right now, but with 4K at 60 fps in cinematic P3 color, it’s the best camera as well. That goes double now for stills, with a TrueDepth system in front that can shoot Portrait Mode and Portrait Lighting just like the dual-lens system on the back (which now sports double optical stabilization). Face ID lets you unlock your iPhone X with a look and a new face matching system lets you integrate yourself into augmented reality (AR) experiences. And, yeah, Animoji.

Bottom line: If you want the absolute best iPhone and money is no object, get iPhone X.

One more thing: Comes in silver or space gray with matching stainless steel bands.

Why the 256GB matte iPhone X is the best

Living on the edge.

Once upon a time, Apple only offered one new iPhone a year. Right now, the company has many — iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, and iPhone SE. That makes choosing the best — and choosing your next iPhone — more complicated than ever.

So why iPhone X?

iPhone X means no longer having to choose between a big screen and an easy-to-carry iPhone. You get the world’s best OLED display at nearly iPhone 8 Plus size in a body that’s just ever-so-slightly bigger than iPhone. And because that display is fully HDR, you can watch iTunes, Netflix, Amazon, and more in Dolby Vision or HDR10. That means deep blacks, popping P3 colors, and details in all the highlights and shadows. It even has TrueTone so, some blue shift at steep angles aside, iPhone X white looks white. No OLED white. Paperwhite.

On the back is an even better version of Apple’s dual lens camera system. It fuses an ƒ/1.8 wide angle with an ƒ/2.4 “telephoto” lens to provide for up to 2x optical and 10x digital zoom, as well as the computational photography-powered Portrait Mode and (now in beta) Portrait Lighting depth of field and studio effects. And on iPhone X, both lenses are optically stabilized for about 1/3 stop better performance in low light.

You can shoot in DCI-P3, and in RAW, and new to video: Up to 60FPS 4K and 240FPS 1080p. Apple has officially made one of the best video cameras around. Period.

Up front is the new TrueDepth camera system that offers Face ID authentication. It can’t do multiple faces the way Touch ID could do multiple fingers, but you also only have to look, not touch, to get into your phone. Daytime, night time, hair up, hair down, shaved, bearded, fancy neural nets keep learning so you can keep unlocking.

It also offers Portrait Mode and Portrait Lighting for selfies, and face matching for everything from social media filters to Apple’s own Animoji.

Available in 64GB and 256GB models, the 256GB version is the most expensive but is also the most useful. It’s almost useful enough to be a primary computing device. Almost.

If all you need is a thin-client for your business apps or portals, or a screen and speakers for music and video streaming, you’ll easily be able to get away with 64GB. If you want to store your media, or not have to worry about how many photos or how much video you take, you’ll need 256GB.

You can get iPhone X in silver or space gray. The silver model, from an angle, almost looks like the original iPhone. The space grey resembles Apple Watch thanks to its similarly stealth-like vapor coating. They both have glass backs, just like they did in the iPhone 4 days, but this time to facilitate wireless charging using the Qi standard.

You can also get AppleCare+, which means you’re only ever a phone call or Apple Store visit away from any fix you may ever need.

Best with bezels:
iPhone 8

iPhone X is so new and different that, for some people, it might be too new and different. That’s why Apple is also offering the very similarly equipped iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. I’d recommend the Plus for anybody who can handle the size. It has what’s becoming an increasingly revolutionary dual lens camera system, as well as extra long battery life. Same True Tone display calibration. Same 4K video at 60FPS. Same blazing-fast Apple A11 Bionic processor. But with Portrait Mode for depth-of-field photography and new (in beta) Portrait Lighting for studio-style effects.

Bottom line: If you want the very latest iPhone, but you want it to be a traditional, familiar iPhone, get iPhone 8 Plus.

One more thing: In addition to silver and space gray, it also comes in a rose-tinted gold color.

One other thing: If iPhone 8 Plus is simply too big for you to hold comfortably, you can get the regular sized iPhone 8.

Best on a budget:
64GB iPhone SE

iPhone SE looks like an iPhone 5 but its got the same power as iPhone 6s and the same 12 megapixel, 4K camera. All wrapped up in a smaller 4-inch chassis that’s easier to use one-handed and fits into even smaller pockets, bag, and hands. There’s no 3D Touch and the LTE radio isn’t quite as fast, but you can still take Live Photos, use Touch ID and Apple Pay, download all the same iTunes and iBooks content, and access all the same App Store apps and games.

Bottom-line: If you want a smaller, less expensive phone, that still has plenty of power and a really good camera, you want iPhone SE.

One more thing: Don’t think of it as smaller, think of it as super light, like a race car with all the power but without all the weight to slow it down. It flies.

Conclusion

If you really love the iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus but don’t care about the camera or processor improvements or wireless charging, you can get last year’s iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus save a good hunk of change. You can even get iPhone 6s, though it’s a much bigger step down in the camera and water resistance departments. Otherwise, iPhone X is the best iPhone available today.

Best overall:
iPhone X (256 GB)

iPhone X gives you get the best OLED display in the industry, at Plus size, crammed into a body the size of the regular iPhone. Fully Dolby Vision and HDR10 compatible, iPhone X isn’t just the best mobile movie player on the planet right now, but with 4K at 60 fps in cinematic P3 color, it’s the best camera as well. That goes double now for stills, with a TrueDepth system in front that can shoot Portrait Mode and Portrait Lighting just like the dual-lens system on the back (which now sports double optical stabilization). Face ID lets you unlock your iPhone X with a look and a new face matching system lets you integrate yourself into augmented reality (AR) experiences. And, yeah, Animoji.

Bottom line: If you want the absolute best iPhone and money is no object, get iPhone X.

One more thing: Comes in silver or space gray with matching stainless steel bands.